


When Did It Start Seeping In?

by LocalAnxceitShipper



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abuse, Abused Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Abused Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Abusive Deceit | Janus Sanders, Alcohol, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Blood and Injury, Character Death, Child Abuse, Crying, Deceit | Janus Sanders is Anxiety | Virgil Sanders' Parent, Deceit | Janus Sanders is Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders' Parent, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Injury, Kid Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Kid Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Morality | Patton Sanders is Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders' Parent, Morality | Patton Sanders is Logic | Logan Sanders' Parent, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Physical Abuse, Swearing, Sympathetic Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Sympathetic Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Logic | Logan Sanders, Sympathetic Morality | Patton Sanders, Unsympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:08:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29124672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LocalAnxceitShipper/pseuds/LocalAnxceitShipper
Summary: He had said he didn't want the bottle to become that for him.Virgil watched from the top of the staircase, tears silently slipping down his face as Janus poured himself another glass of whiskey.ORAlternatively, how Janus turns from a great parent to a not-so-great parent over the course of Remus and Virgil's childhood, due to the stress  he's under.Inspired by Cherry_Sofa_729's Unfortunate Circumstances seriesI really love that series and I basically just ruined it here by upping the angst times 50Though some major changes I made from their series are that they're not living in poverty, there's a fence instead of a forest separating the light and dark side, and the age difference between Remus and Virgil is smaller(Also please note that even though I would really like to be able to write the whole story I have planned, there is no guarantee it will be finished. There's a possibility I may lose motivation and if that happens, I don't want to force myself to continue writing when this is supposed to be fun for me)
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders
Kudos: 6





	When Did It Start Seeping In?

**Author's Note:**

> Just a heads up, the writing format will drastically change depending on the mood of the situation, as to why, I really have no explanation.

The garden looked lonely. 

That was the only way he could describe it. The dark oak fence separating the light and dark side looked sturdy, but weathered, seeming empty without the dozens of chalk drawings that used to be there every day. The once luscious yucca plants surrounding the backyard had lost almost all their leaves, with all the old leaves littering the area around the dead plants. The ground was no longer covered in vibrant, green clovers, but thin, scattered patches of dried up grass, revealing the cracked ground that had given up on the possibility of water, long ago. Where there was once gorgeous flowers that matched the sunrise's colors, there were now none to be found.

As the sun was slowly setting, Virgil stared at the now rusted swings that sat at the far end of the backyard. One of the chains had broken off on the right swing making it tilt to the side, the chain slightly dragging on the rubber mulch whenever a small breeze would shift the swing. 

Virgil honestly didn't know why he came here today, the only thing he knew was that going to the swings felt like the right thing to do at the moment. So when he reached the swing set and gingerly sat down on the left swing, he immediately averted his eyes to his lap. He couldn't bear to look up, knowing the house would be directly in front of him now. He couldn't close his eyes or turn around either, too fearful of letting himself be that vulnerable. 

Too fearful of being vulnerable in a place like this.

After about 10 minutes of silence, he finally took a deep breath, cupped his hands around his eyes, and glanced to the side of the garden. With his hands cupped around his eyes, it helped block the house that would've otherwise been in his peripheral vision, but it still did nothing to stop the sharp intake of breath when he saw it. 

There stood the lemon tree that Janus had loved so much, the lemon tree that Janus had tended to every day, the lemon tree that Janus had said was his favorite plant in the entire garden, the lemon tree complete with a yellow ribbon tied to it.

~~~

"Jan, look look!" 

Janus had just finished tying the small, yellow ribbon to the tree, when a 7-year old Remus called out to him.

"Look'it how high I am! I'm even taller than you!"

"Wow, very impressive." Janus replied, smiling amusedly and watching as Remus energetically pumped his legs in time with the swing. 

His attention then turned to the oak fence nearby, where a young 5-year old Virgil quietly sat, drawing spiders hanging from spiderwebs with blue and red chalk.

Remus curiously followed Janus's line of sight, lighting up when he realized what Virgil had drawn. So when the momentum of the swing reached its highest point, he jumped off, tumbling to the floor, and started running over. 

"Ooh! Are 'doze venomous spiders? Like the ones that make you all blue and froth at the mouth and die?!? They should be, those kinds of spiders are the best!"

Virgil didn't know what to say in response. He really just wanted his spiders to be friendly spiders that wrote cool messages on their spiderwebs, like in the book Remus was reading. But, he also didn't want to disappoint Remus and be called boring.

Thankfully, Janus was able to see Virgil's internal struggle in time, and managed to step in for him, scolding Remus.

"Remus. You know Virgil can make his spiders whatever they want to be, venomous or not, he gets to choose that. If you want to make venomous spiders that make people froth at the mouth, you can draw them yourself."

At that, Remus gave a dramatic sigh and a defeated "Fiiiinnnee." before moving to look through the chalk box that had been left to the side.

With Remus distracted, Virgil turned to Janus with anxious eyes, gesturing to the drawings that had started the entire conversation. "Do you like 'em?"

Janus smiled sympathetically in return, "I love them, Vee. Do you want to sign it?"

Virgil's face instantly brightened, nodding vigorously at the chance to practice writing his name.

"Ok, do you remember what letters you need to write?" 

That made Virgil stop to think, he knew there was a V and a G. Or was it a J? 

"Umm, can you please say 'em?"

"Of course. So, you're going to start with a V."

A capital V was hastily written.

"Then an I."

This continued until they reached the end of Virgil's name, every time Janus waiting patiently for Virgil to write down the next letter.

By the end, Virgil had gotten a capital V, a lowercase i, a capital R, a backwards capital G, a lowercase i, and a lowercase l.

Janus gave a small smirk, walking over, and squatting down with his knees simultaneously clicking. "Almost. You just got one letter a bit off." He gently took hold of Virgil's hand and helped him cross out the backwards G, writing it the right way underneath.

Afterwards, Virgil turned to look back at Janus with a hopeful expression, wanting to get absolute confirmation. "Good?" 

"Perfect."

**Author's Note:**

> I was very tempted to just call this chapter ViRGil
> 
> Also I know Remus is 7-years old, he slurs some of his words in this chapter because I say so.


End file.
